Sunday, September 22nd, 2013

The New England Patriots remain undefeated after an impressive defensive performance and a relatively more encouraging offensive game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who dominated the initial phase of the game but fell behind following injuries to their top two receiving options, wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. Read on for five of the most relevant occurrences in this afternoon’s victory.

Despite narrowly escaping from contests with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the season’s first two weeks, the New England Patriots will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this afternoon in what should be their most difficult matchup yet. Although Greg Schiano’s Tampa Bay team is 0-2 and currently dealing with rumors of discord between Schiano and his players, the Buccaneers could easily be 2-0 at this juncture and boast a roster loaded with the type of talent that could give New England fits: an imposing defensive front led by elite defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, a vastly improved secondary which features shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis and talented safeties Mark Barron and Dashon Goldson, a running game led by Doug Martin and which will likely feature the return of left guard Carl Nicks, and a talented receiving corps built around 6’5″, 230-pound vertical threat Vincent Jackson. Read on for ten keys to this week’s contest, which should demand vastly improved execution from New England’s roster.

Monday, May 13th, 2013

For much of the first decade of the 21st century, the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick were a team considered to be ahead of the curve when it came to the NFL draft.

From consistently finding diamonds in the rough who became team building blocks, to mastering the art of trading up and down the draft board for better value, the Patriots laid the foundation for three NFL championships and five Super Bowl appearances in an 11-year span.

But as the rest of the league has caught up, with teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks making brilliant offseason moves translate into on-field success, the Patriots are at risk of falling behind.

As a result of Belichick’s success at the beginning of the century, winning three Super Bowls in the first five years of the millennium, he has typically received benefit of the doubt. Belichick’s decisions are ultimately expected to be for the better — understandably given his accolades — even if they are unexpected or unconventional.

That said, it’s time to start looking past the benefit of the doubt, with the Patriots now eight years removed from their last Super Bowl title. Specifically, the decision to use three of seven draft picks on Rutgers players, coinciding with an apparently burgeoning friendship between Belichick and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano, should raise a red flag.